lowa Blas is in hog heaven Hey, he actually wins (a stuffed pig)
President de Blasio? When pigs fly!
Hizzoner visited the Iowa State Fair as part of his long-shot bid for the White House Sunday, scarfing down high-fat foods and playing carnival games — even scoring himself a stuffed swine in a game of Skee-Ball.
“This is a harbinger of things to come,” said de Blasio, holding the hog skyward. “All things are possible.”
Hizzoner then took the soapbox at the bellwether event — receiving scattered applause from a sedate crowd that was roughly one-tenth the size of the one that watched Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders just minutes before.
“I love the Iowa State Fair!” bellowed de Blasio.
Despite his flagging poll numbers, de Blasio stressed the need for Democrats to reject a moderate platform in favor of radical ideas that he said would spur voters to the ballot box in 2020.
“If we say to the American people we’re just going to change your lives a little bit, a whole lot of people are going to stay home,” said de Blasio. “A little change is not enough for most working Americans, for Iowans who are struggling.”
De Blasio claimed his own Big Apple policies — including paid sick leave and the $15 minimum wage — were the types of ideas needed to energize the electorate.
“People vote out of passion. They vote when they’re excited,” said de Blasio. “They vote when they believe change can happen.”
But one thing de Blasio didn’t change was his script — largely repeating a stump speech he delivered earlier in the day at a mostly deserted eatery in Cedar Rapids.
Only about 15 people were on hand at the Parlor City Pub as de Blasio laid out his taleof-two-cities vision.
“The rich have gotten richer. Everybody else has been pretty much treading water,” he said.
The approach was met with a mixed reception by the few attendees there to hear it.
“I like a lot of what he said,” offered Carol Wickey, a 78-year-old retiree. “[But] he did not say anything that would be my choice as a candidate.
“Nothing made him stand out among the other two dozen people.”
At the fair, de Blasio did his best everyman impression, polishing off a corn dog and engaging in a friendly competition of carnival games with his wife, Chirlane McCray, and their son, Dante.
“We’ve had winners across the family so far. There’s no dominant force,” said de Blasio — moments before a forced loud cough that threw off Dante as he lined up to kick at a soccer game.
De Blasio ultimately walked away from that game with a plush bulldog — to pair with the porker he won for shooting a 190 at Skee-Ball.